“Nova” by Samuel R. Delany
It is an allegorical tale of interstellar adventure, a quest that is part Moby Dick and part revolutionary act. It is about confluence, archetypes, obsession, seeking the future, and the creative process itself. It is the story that marked the transition from Delany’s more straightforward genre explorations to the maturation of his career when he returned to the field with Dhalgren. It is the book that critic Algis Budrys said “…right now, as of this book…not as of some future book or some accumulated body of work, [Delany] is the best science-fiction writer in the world, at a time when competition for that status is intense.” In this installment of The Three Hoarsemen, John E. O. Stevens, Fred Kiesche and Jeff Patterson discuss Nova by Samuel R. Delany, including their first encounter with the book, how subsequent readings have altered their views, and the continuing strength of the story after four and a half decades.
Listen to this episode (1 hour, 2 minutes)
Show Notes
The Violent Century, by Lavie Tidhar
Additional Notes:
The SF Encyclopedia entry on Samuel R. Delnay
Jo Walton at Tor Dot Com: Overloading the Senses
Jo Walton at Tor Dot Com: Scintillations of a Sensory Syrynx
Weird Fiction reviews Michael Cisco
Notes on The Violent Century, by Lavie Tidhar
Open Road Media to Publish Nine Books by Samuel R. Delany
